Friday, August 22, 2008

Flamingos are my Friends

My love affair with flamingos began at the tender age of 16. I was at Magic Mountain and somehow ended up in the petting zoo area where they had some flamingos. While I'm sure I'd seen these magestic birds before, it felt like I was seeing them for the first time. I was totally and completely mesmerized, transfixed, and immediately in love. I couldn't take my eyes off them and lost all interest in going on rides, walking around, or doing any of the other stuff one does at an amusement park. All I wanted to do was watch the birds. From that point on, I was hooked. Flash forward almost twenty (cough cough) years, and as anyone knows, I'm a certified flamingo freak. Every inch of my place would be covered in them if I didn't control myself (yes, I do have self-control on occasion). As it is, I've got a flamingo kitchen, bathroom, three flamingo tattoos, and an entire desk at work filled with them.The reason I bring this up is because I received a picture text from my friend T from when she went to the San Diego Zoo. If I had a dollar for every time someone took a picture for me of a flamingo, I'd be rich. Seriously. I love it - it's the coolest thing. For years my friends have taken pictures from all over the world - even Bogota, Columbia. When my sister took her kids to the San Diego Zoo, my niece Phoenix ran up to the flamingos and said, "Auntie! Auntie!" and took a picture with them for me (it's on my desk at work, as well). What a special thing, to be associated with this glorious and beautiful bird (which I know is technically white and turns pink because of the brine shrimp it eats - people always think they're going to trick me and that I won't know anything about the bird, but I do!).

No comments: